Agitator for washing machines



March 15, 1938. P. E. GELDHOF AGITATOR FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed Sept. so, 1955 IHVENTIJR {AW ATTuR the! j l-l time, tends Patented Mar. 15, 1938 Easy Washing 2,111,144 AGITATOR' FOR; WASHING MACHINES Peter Eduard Geldhof,

Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Machine Corporation, Syracuse, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application September 30,1935, Serial No. 42,780

5 Claims.

My invention relates to washing machines and,- more particularly, to a novel agitator or dolly therefor. I

An object of my invention is to provide an agitator for a washing machine adapted for oscillation in a washing tub or vat in which the blades are arranged ,so as. to cause turbulence of the clothes and washing fluid and a thorough intermingling of the clothes and washing fluid, whereby the clothes are subjected to a thorough-washing action.

A further object of my invention is to provide an agitator for a washing machine which is adapted to cleanse the clothes thoroughly in a minimum length of time without causing undue deterioration of theolothes.

My invention further contemplates the provision of a novel agitator for a washing machine which is adapted to oscillate the clothes backwardly and forwardly in accordance with the oscillations of the agitator and which, at the same to cause a circulation of the contents of the vat around the vat in one direction near the surface of the cleansing fluid and in the opposite direction near the bottom of cleansing fluid, the clothes at the same time being caused to change their relative positions in the vat, whereby new clothes surfaces are constantly be.- I ing presented to the action of the agitator'and the clothes are at times acted upon by the lower portion of the agitator and at other times by the upper portion of the agitator.

More specifically, my invention contemplates the provision of a novel agitator for a washing .machine in which a plurality of sets of curved blades are provided, one set of the blades being mounted on a base in proximity to the bottom of the vat and curving in one direction while the other set of blades is' mountedwell above the base near the surface of the liquid, the blades of the-upper set being curved in the opposite direction to that of the lower set.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be .more apparent from the following description whentaken in connection with the accompanying drawing; in which: v

.Figure 1 is a view of the agitator, partly in section, showing the agitator mounted in a wash ing vat.

Figure 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a view taken on line 44 of Figure 2.

The agitator of my invention is adapted to be mounted in a vat or tub I I in which the clothes and washing fluid are placed. The washing vat prises a preferably,

, of the blades preferably begins at a point near may be of any desired shape, either square or,

' as shown in the drawing, circular in cross section. The agitator, generally indicated by the numeral i2, is preferably mounted centrally of thevat ii and is driven by a shaft l3 extending 5 upwardly through the bottom of the vat. Suitable packing or other means are provided around the shaft to prevent leakageof the cleansing fluid around the shaft. The drive shaft 83 may be driven by any suitable mechanism and from any suitable source of power, not necessary to be shown or described herein, since such driving mechanism for oscillating the agitator is'well known in the art to which this invention applies.v Preferably, the shaft isdriven in an oscillatory manner so as to drive the agitator through an arc of 180, more or less at a comparatively higher rate of speed somewhere between fifty and sixty oscillations per minute; 1 The upper end of the shaft is splined, as indicated at 1%, to receive similar splines 16 formed in a collar l'l. The collar ll is preferably press fitted in a sleeve l8 which surrounds and oscillates with the shaft when the splines I4 and iii are in engagement. The agitator itself com- I base 2!. which is disk-shaped and preferably of a diameter about half or less that of the diameter of the vat. The top face of the base may be either horizontal or preferably, as shown in the drawing, the central portion of the base is slightly raised to accommodate between the bottom of the base and the bottom of the vat the aforementioned. packing or other means for'preventing leakage of washing fluid around the shaft.

. A plurality of blades -23, 24 and 25 extend vertically upward from the upper face of the base, to a point approximately half the normal depth of cleansing fluid. Each of the blades is preferably curved in-horizontai crosssection and is preferably formed on the arc of a circle, which is approximately half the diameter of the base. -The inner vertical edge2l of each the central axis but eccentric. thereto and may be secured to :the concave face of the adjacent blade in any suitable manner. From the inner vertical edge, each of the blades curves around the central axis inthe same direction so that the outer vertical edges 28 are substantially in the same'vertical planewith the axis and the inner vertical edges of the blades. Preferably, the

blades are mounted on the base and arrangedso that, as indicated at 2 9, the blades are tangent to the sleeve I 8 whichextends from the top to the bottom of the agitator.

If the blades are made separately and then secured together and to the base, they may be welded to the central sleeve at the point of'tangency. However, if the entire agitator is die cast, the sleeve, base and blades maybe cast in one piece. The blades at thecentral portion of the agitator thus form an enclosure extending above the base and surrounding the' sleeve, a horizontal cross section of which is triangular in shape with the sides of the triangle being an arc of a circle upon which the blades are formed. The lower portions of the agitator blades 23, 24 and 25, at the outer vertical edges thereof, are each provided with a fillet 3! which avoids forming a sharp corner between the base and the agitator blades, which might tear the clothes during oscillation of the agitator.

Each. of the blades has a top closure 32 preferably formed integral therewith, as indicated in Figure 4. The top closures 32 with the base and blades form three liquid propelling elements of cupped formation having what might be termed, to distinguish between them, a leading face 30 and a following face 30. It will be noted that the leading faces 30 of the blades all face in a clockwise direction, as viewed in the drawing. The top closures 32 form bases for three vertically extending blades 33, 34 and 35 which may be formed integral with the closures 32.

Each of the blades 33, 36 and 35, forming the upper set of blades, is curved on the same are as the blades 23, 24 and 25, but in the opposite direction to that of. the curvature of the lower set of blades. The inner vertical edge of each of the blades of the upper set lies in a line substantially in the line of the inner vertical edge of one of the lower set of blades and the outer vertical edge of each of the blades of the upper set lies in line substantially in the line of the outer vertical edge of one of the lower set of blades. For example, the innervertical edges of the blades 3 and 2t lie in substantially the same line, and the outer vertical edges of these blades lie in substantially the same line. There is thus formed a lower set of cupped blades facing in a clockwise direction and an upper set of blades facing in the counter-clockwise direction. The blades33, 3e and 35 are; in a similar manner to the lower set of blades, welded to and surround the central sleeve 88. A cap 38 of any desired shape has a flat bottom surface M which rests upon the top edges of the upper set of blades and forms a top closure for the upper set 'of blades. The cap is retained in position by a screw 52 threaded to the top of the sleeve i8. I l

' When the agitator is oscillated with the vat filled with clothes and cleansing fluid at about the. level of the bottom surface of the cap, the leading faces 30 of the lower set of blades tend to exert a powerful, positive thrust on the clothes and washing fluid when the agitator is rotated in the clockwise direction. The following faces.

30', when the agitator is rotated in the counterclockwise direction, because they are curved in a direction away from the direction of movement of the agitator, tend to more or less slip through the clothes and washing fluid without exerting any substantial thrust upon the clothes and washing fluid. Meanwhile, when the agitator is rotated in the clockwise direction, the following faces of the upper set of blades more or less slip through the water and when the agitator is reversed, the leading faces become eifective and exert a powerful, positive thrust on the clothes and washing fluid in the counter-clockwise direction. There are thus created two oppositely directed forces, one tending to circulate the clothes and washing fluid near the bottom of the vat in a clockwise direction, and the other tending to circulate the clothes and washing fluid I in a counter-clockwise direction near the top of the vat. Although movement of the clothes in a clockwise direction at the lower level and in a counter-clockwise direction at the upper level can clearly be observed when the machine is operated, these oppositely directed forces tend largely to neutralize each other so as to cause a turbulent substantially oscillatory movement of the clothes and washing fluid backward and forward in accordance with the oscillations of the agitator.

The clothes, during the operation above described, are constantly changing their relative positions in. the vat so that a particular article of the clothing is at times under the influence of the upper set of blades and at other times, under the influence of the lower set of blades. This change of position of the clothing may possibly be caused by the fact that, for example, the upper blade 3'3, when it is moving in a counterclockwise direction, tends to push the clothes ahead of it with a powerful thrust while at the same time, the lower blade 23 is moving in the same counter-clockwise direction and tending to create a vacuum on the leading side of that blade. Thus, there is a tendency when a particular article of clothing is in the proper position,. for it to move in the direction of the arrow A,

in Figure 1. Upon reversal 'of the agitator, the forces are reversed and" there is a tendency for a particular article of clothing, in the proper position, to move in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow A.

While the above-explanation as to why there is'an interchange of articles of clothing between the upper and lower levels is more or less theoretical and while this movement is not pronounced, still there is sufficient change of the relative positions of the various articles of clothes to cause each article, during the complete washing operation, to be acted upon by both sets of blades so that a more thorough washing action is accomplished. Of particular importance during the washing action above described, is the fact that the by a thorough washing action'is secured with-' out undue deterioration of the clothes.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the agitator of my invention is of new and novel design and is adapted-to cleanse the clothes thoroughly and in a minimum length ofv time. It 'will further beobserved that various changes and modifications may be made in the form and relation of parts of the agitator without departing from the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An agitator for washing machines adapted to be oscillated in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid comprising a base, a central vertical axis rising upwardly from the base, a set oi'blades extending outwardly on the .base substantially from theaxis, each of said blades being curved in horizontal cross section, and a second set of blades above said first set of blades and extending outwardly from substantially the central axis, each of said blades being curved in horizontal cross section in a direction opposite to that of the lower-set of blades, the inner and outer vertical edges of said upper set of blades being substantially in line respectively with the inner and outer vertical edgesof said lower set of blades.

2. An agitator for washing machines adapted to be oscillated in a vat containing clothes and washing fluidcomprising a base, a central vertical axis rising upwardly from the base, a set of three blades extending outwardly on the base and rising vertically therefrom, each of said blades being curved in horizontal cross section and having their inner edges Joined together in a manner such as to form a triangular closure surrounding the central axis, and a second set or three blades extending outwardly with respect to said base abovesaid first set of blades and rising vertically, each of said second set of blades being curved in horizontal cross section in a "direction opposite to that of said first set of blades and having their inner edges Joined togetherin a manner such as to form a triangular tral axis. I i

3. An agitator for a washing machine adapted to be oscillated in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said agitator comprising a base, a central vertical axis extending upward from said base, a plurality of blades extending outward on said base from said central vertical axis, each of said blades being curved in horizontal cross section and having their faces vertical, means extending horizontally substantially at the vertical center of the agitatorand closing the space be-' tween adjacent blades at the top thereof, a plurality of blades extending upward from said means to substantially the normal surface level of cleansing fluid, each of said blades being curved in closure surrounding the cenhorizontal cross section and having their faces extending vertically, and a plate extending over the top of said'blades. v

4. An agitator adapted to be oscillated in a vat containing clothes and washing fluid, said vat having an approximately normal surface level of cleansing fluid, said agitator comprising a central vertical axis extending upward irom'the bottom of the vat, a plurality of blades extending outward from the axis and upward from substantially the bottom of the vat, each of said blades being curved in horizontal cross section having their faces substantially vertical and being of substantially constant width throughout their heighth, means extending horizontally substantially at the vertical center of'the agitator and closing the space'between adjacent blades at the tops thereof, a plurality of blades extending upward from said means substantially to the nor- 1 mal surface level of cleansing fluid, each of said ,blades being curved in horizontal cross section having their faces extending substantially vertical, and being of substantially constant width throughout their heighth.

5. An agitator adapted to be oscillated in a vat containing clothes and washing-fluid, said agitator comprising a base, a central post extending 'upward from the base, a set of a plurality of blades extending upward from the base, each of said blades being curved in the same direction in horizontal cross section having their laces substantially vertical and being of substantially the same width throughout their heighth, means extending horizontally substantially at the vertical center of the agitator and closing the space between adjacent blades at the tops thereof, and a second set of a plurality of blades extending upward from said means, said second set of blades being similar in shape and arrangement as the lower set of blades, each blade of each set having its inner edge curved around the post to the race of an adiacent blade to form an en- ,closure around the post.

and joined 

